Suggestions for increasing padding to bars?

[jischr]

I’ve been losing muscle mass in my right hand for a while. This is the first year it seems I will need more padding to alleviate pressure on the bones. For those in a similar position, did you double wrap with CX tape, or add silicone pads to the bars, or find gloves with more padding built in? Anyone use anti-vibration work gloves? One thought I had was to slice open/install thin mtb grips and then tape over them. Open to any suggestions.
Thanks

[charliedid]

Try the Fizik or Planet bike gel bar padding. Cush where you need it and not too much of it.

[Hilltopperny]

Give something like a Fabric brand knurl bar tape a try. It is pretty thick and if that isn’t enough then you can always wrap some other wrap around it. That should give you plenty of padding and a bit thicker of a surface area for your hands.


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[FlashUNC]

Fizik gel stuff. Works great.

[Elefantino]

I double wrap.

[pdmtong]

The Fizik gel pads are nice.

You may also want to size down to a 26.0 bar else the gel plus 2.5 mm tape might make the whole wrap just too big to grip confidently

[zmalwo]

the gel pads are awesome. tuck some under the hood as well so you can get the padding effect while riding on the hoods. that + cycling gloves i don't see your hand going numb anytime soon.

[Spdntrxi]

Silca has some new bar tape.. 3.5mm but claim feels like 5

[Toeclips]

Simular problems, I had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrist.

I found that plumbing foam tube padding/insulation works great. The same packaging you see on bike tubes for shipping. Found at home depot

Tight fit around bars, it goes right on top of your tape

Looks bulky but it works I even pad the brake levers

Hope your hand improves

[lhuerta]

Cinelli Gel Cork....drop mic

[robt57]

Hoods or tops giving you trouble?

[Clancy]

Maybe look at one of the shock absorbing stem that’s been introduced in the last few months for gravel riding. I can’t remember the brand but I believe it was reviewed positively in Cyclingtips.

Foam and/or double wrap will only do so much. Minimizing vibration at the handlebar would seem to be the key. I would also put the fattest tires on the bike. I would bet a beer that a 28c over a 25c offers more vibration absorption than double wrapping bars.

I feel for you. Whatever course you follow, good luck.

[happycampyer]

Maybe look at one of the shock absorbing stem that’s been introduced in the last few months for gravel riding. I can’t remember the brand but I believe it was reviewed positively in Cyclingtips.

Foam and/or double wrap will only do so much. Minimizing vibration at the handlebar would seem to be the key. I would also put the fattest tires on the bike. I would bet a beer that a 28c over a 25c offers more vibration absorption than double wrapping bars.

I feel for you. Whatever course you follow, good luck.

I agree with all of this—and 32mm tires will provide even more shock absorption still, although your bike might not be able to handle tires that wide.

On my all-road bike I use the Bontrager IsoCore VR handlebar, which is shaped to accommodate gel pads without excessive bulk. The bar plus a cushioned bar tape cuts vibration a lot.

[jr59]

I double wrap.

Correct! I use cork wrap under, and leather tape over. Have for years. Works great. Plus, I can normally find cheap cork tape in less desirable color ways on sale pretty cheap

[zennmotion]

For my wife with small hands and sensitive ulnar nerves, double wrap (fizik over cork) was too thick and it was actually worse than a single wrap of Cinelli cork. I've been wrapping my bikes with Red Monkey Big 40 tape (used to be called Zevlin before RM bought it out) for many years and I really like it- it's the approximate thickness of most cork tapes but wider so you can overlap more- it's also longer than most tapes so you can have generous overlaps. Wrapping thicker works for my wife, thinner works for me. https://www.redmonkeysports.com/collections/road-gravel-bar-tape

[joshatsilca]

Silca has some new bar tape.. 3.5mm but claim feels like 5

Our Cuscino tape is 3.75mm thick and has better shock absorbtion than a 5mm EVA or memory foam would provide. We also make 1.85mm and 2.5mm tapes as not everybody likes thick tape.

The real advantage of our Nastro is that it's made from a very special new foam, same as used by Nike in their 2 Hour Marathon shoe.. that can be molded at ~15% less stiff than an EVA, yet due to the incredibly low hysteresis, it can also be 20-30% more dynamically responsive, so you get the best of both worlds, the cushion and feel of a really soft tape like LizardSkinz, with the dynamic cushion and spring back of a much stiffer tape like cork, and it also has a 0.5mm thick top ply of TPU which is as durable as leather.

You can see some data and learn more HERE (https://silca.cc/pages/nastro-bar-tape-lp)

[David Tollefson]

I've actually found the opposite to help. Problem is that the cushier the tape, the more one tends to grip it tightly. If you're riding on the hoods and take your hands off the bars (without immediately sitting up), do you immediately feel like you're falling off the saddle? It may be a position or core strength issue. My most comfortable set-ups, even for gravel use, is the old Benotto ribbon (utterly NO padding at all) and no gloves on aluminum bars.

[joemull]

I've tried the gel pads that adhere to the bars and found them too bulky, also losing the cushion when the bar tape is wrapped. CX Mag experienced this too.

https://www.cxmagazine.com/gravel-gear-fizik-bar-gel-padding-handlebar-gravel-adventure

"Loosely wrapping bar tape is an invitation to having it come unraveled, so like many cyclists do, we wrapped our bar tape tightly over the Bar Gel pads. The tight wrap squished the gel and took away its shock-absorbing properties, leaving us with higher-diameter bars but little of the promised relief for bumpy terrain."

I was about to try the thick lizard skins but went with the Supacaz Sticky Cush 3mm tape instead and it's the best bar tape I've had. Hate supporting the brat son of the Specialized empire but the Supacaz tape is great.

I also wear a good pair of gel gloves and all my bikes' tires are 28mm+.

[nachetetm]

Our Cuscino tape is 3.75mm thick and has better shock absorbtion than a 5mm EVA or memory foam would provide. We also make 1.85mm and 2.5mm tapes as not everybody likes thick tape.

The real advantage of our Nastro is that it's made from a very special new foam, same as used by Nike in their 2 Hour Marathon shoe.. that can be molded at ~15% less stiff than an EVA, yet due to the incredibly low hysteresis, it can also be 20-30% more dynamically responsive, so you get the best of both worlds, the cushion and feel of a really soft tape like LizardSkinz, with the dynamic cushion and spring back of a much stiffer tape like cork, and it also has a 0.5mm thick top ply of TPU which is as durable as leather.

You can see some data and learn more HERE (https://silca.cc/pages/nastro-bar-tape-lp)I've tried the gel pads that adhere to the bars and found them too bulky, also losing the cushion when the bar tape is wrapped. CX Mag experienced this too.

https://www.cxmagazine.com/gravel-gear-fizik-bar-gel-padding-handlebar-gravel-adventure

"Loosely wrapping bar tape is an invitation to having it come unraveled, so like many cyclists do, we wrapped our bar tape tightly over the Bar Gel pads. The tight wrap squished the gel and took away its shock-absorbing properties, leaving us with higher-diameter bars but little of the promised relief for bumpy terrain."

I was about to try the thick lizard skins but went with the Supacaz Sticky Cush 3mm tape instead and it's the best bar tape I've had. Hate supporting the brat son of the Specialized empire but the Supacaz tape is great.

I also wear a good pair of gel gloves and all my bikes' tires are 28mm+.That's exactly my experience with Fizik gel pads. However, I have big hands and I appreciate the extra thickness that gives to the bar, combined also with thick tape. Both together made the handlebar comfortable enough that I never had pain again.

[Skenry]

I wrap contact areas with old inner tube and then wrap tape over that.
Tried foam and gel pads, but then ended up squishing flat, the rubber cuts the vibrations nicely.